Tuesday, August 05, 2014

Australian Couple Gives Their Version of Events re: Abandoned Down Syndrome Twin

"Gammy was very sick when he was born and the biological parents were told he would not survive and he had a day, at best, to live and to say goodbye," the friend, a woman, told the newspaper, without saying who told them this.

The birth of the twins was supposed to take place at a major international hospital in Thailand but Pattharamon went to another facility, which made the surrogacy agreement void, according to the newspaper.

This meant that the couple had no legal rights to the babies although the surrogate mother finally agreed to hand over the girl, the report said.

"The biological parents were heartbroken that they couldn't take their boy with them and never wanted to give him up, but to stay would risk them losing their daughter also," the friend said.

She added that allegations that the couple "ignored" Gammy when they visited the hospital were untrue and they had bought gifts for both infants.

"They prayed for Gammy to survive but were told by doctors that he was too sick, not because of the Down's syndrome but because of his heart and lung conditions and infection."

The friend added that the couple spent two months in Thailand but due to military unrest at the time felt they had no option but to leave without Gammy.

"This has been absolutely devastating for them, they are on the edge," she said.

Fairfax Media can reveal that Ms Kamonthip had no medical education or training before she founded the Bangkok-based company IVF Parenting in early 2013, as the largely unregulated surrogacy business began to boom in Thailand, with hundreds of couples coming from Australia to take part in commercial programs.